Tropical Storm Debby crawls offshore in the Gulf

This NOAA satellite image taken Saturday, June 23, 2012, shows shower and thunderstorm activity developing around an area of low pressure spinning in the Gulf of Mexico. (AP Photo/NOAA)

This NOAA satellite image taken Saturday, June 23, 2012, shows shower and thunderstorm activity developing around an area of low pressure spinning in the Gulf of Mexico. (AP Photo/NOAA)

A surfer rides a wave off Okaloosa Island in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., on Saturday, June 23, 2012. A storm system will bring more heavy showers and thunderstorms to southern Florida and the Gulf Coast. This system has a high chance of tropical cyclone development over the weekend. (AP Photo/Northwest Florida Daily News, Nick Tomecek)

A red flag flies on the beach at Okaloosa Island in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., indicating rough surf conditions on Saturday, June 23, 2012. A storm system will bring more heavy showers and thunderstorms to southern Florida and the Gulf Coast. This system has a high chance of tropical cyclone development over the weekend. (AP Photo/Northwest Florida Daily News, Nick Tomecek)

MIAMI (AP) ? Tropical Storm Debby crawled slowly closer to the northern rim of the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, its exact track still uncertain as forecasters warned the system could begin strengthening and produce near hurricane force winds in coming days.

Amid an ongoing threat of torrential downpours from Debby, authorities warned of the possibility of flooding and strong winds from Texas to Florida. At least one tornado linked to the storm touched down Saturday in southwest Florida, but no injuries were reported. Heavy squalls pounded parts of that state.

At 5 a.m. EDT Sunday, Debby was about 165 miles (265 kilometers) southeast of the mouth of the Mississippi River, with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph), the Nationial Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Debby was moving toward the north at 3 mph (6 kph) and was expected to strengthen as it gradually takes a more westward direction in coming hours.

The center of Debby was expected to linger in the northern Gulf over the next few days with no landfall in the immediate forecast.

Forecasters said Debby could be near hurricane strength by Monday night. Meanwhile, up to six inches of rain along the coast, with isolated amounts of 10 inches were possible.

It was the first time four tropical storms have been recorded before July 1 during the Atlantic hurricane season since record keeping began in 1851.

Debby forced the suspension of 8 percent of the region's oil and gas production.

The government reported that nine production platforms and one drilling rig were evacuated. The suspended crude production amounts to about 2 percent of U.S production and about 0.1 percent of global production. The reduced production is not expected to impact oil prices unless the storm strengthens and forces more production platforms to close.

A tropical storm warning was issued for part of the southeast Louisiana coast. Officials there have been monitoring the weather closely for the last several days. Some low-lying areas close to the coast flood easily in rough weather.

Near the mouth of the Mississippi southeast of New Orleans, Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser said officials were making preparations to protect the main highway from tidal flooding.

A tornado touched down in Collier County in southwest Florida and forecasters warned other twisters were possible.

Several homes were damaged and tree limbs were down, smashing atop at least two cars, The Naples Daily News reported.

"This is quite common with this type of storm," senior hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart with the National Hurricane Center said of the twisters. "They tend to not be very large or long-lived, which can be difficult to detect on radar. So people need to keep an eye on the sky."

Out in the Gulf, Anadarko Petroleum removed all non-essential personnel and expects to close four facilities in the central and eastern Gulf by Saturday. Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and Marathon Oil said non-essential personnel were being removed but production was not being affected. ExxonMobil reported that its operations were unaffected.

Alberto was the first storm this year. It formed off the South Carolina coast on May 19, almost two weeks before the hurricane season officially began June 1.

Associated Press

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